Not all customers are the same, so why waste your budget marketing to them like they are? McKinsey research shows that 71% of consumers want personalized shopping experiences, and 76% get frustrated when they don’t have them. That’s where demographic segmentation comes in.
But what is demographic segmentation, exactly? We define it as a process that helps you categorize your audience into meaningful demographic groups so you can reach the right people with impactful custom messages.
Businesses across industries are partnering with Experian to power smarter decisions and better results through solutions like demographic segmentation — but what does this look like in action? This article breaks down five real-world demographic segmentation examples, showing how businesses have worked with us to drive measurable success so you can see exactly how it can work for you.
What is demographic segmentation?
Demographic segmentation involves dividing your audience into smaller, more specific groups based on shared demographics like income, education, gender, job, family status, and more to gain a more granular understanding of your brand’s target segments. The better you know your audience, the better you speak to their unique needs — and the more effective your campaigns will be, as you’ll be able to target each segment with highly personalized content that resonates.
For instance, a company might market a new tech gadget to young adults in one way while promoting the same product to families with young children in a completely different way, ensuring the message speaks to each group’s lifestyle and priorities.
Demographic segmentation attributes
Some of the most common attributes used in demographic segmentation include:
Age
Each age group has different wants and needs. A new video game might catch the eye of teenagers, while a retirement plan is more likely to appeal to someone in their 50s or 60s.
Gender
Gender impacts preference for certain products, from fashion to gadgets, so knowing who you’re talking to helps make your marketing more relevant.
Income
Someone with a higher income might be more likely to purchase premium products, while someone on a budget will respond better to discounts or value-based offers.
Education
The level of education a person has can influence what kind of messaging will resonate with them, whether it’s complex or more straightforward.
Occupation
A marketing message targeting busy professionals might differ from one aimed at students or retirees. Occupation can tell you what’s important to a person in terms of their needs and lifestyle.
Family Status
A family with young kids likely has different priorities than a single person or a couple without children. You can adapt your messaging to be more relevant to what matters most to them, like convenience or value.
Benefits of using demographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation offers several valuable benefits for marketers. Here’s why it’s one of the most commonly used and effective ways to target audiences:
- Improved targeting and personalization: Demographic segmentation powers highly customized campaigns so you can cater to different income levels, family structures, job types, and so forth. B2C brands can provide offers based on factors like age, income, and gender, while B2B brands can target by occupation to reach decision-makers.
- Better product and service development: Understanding which demographics use your product or service is a great way to inform future improvements.
- Higher engagement: With highly customized content, you can speak directly to specific demographic groups and increase engagement.
- Cost efficiency: As you target the most relevant segments, you optimize your spending around the most likely buyers and will see better returns.
- Increased conversion and retention: Relevant, targeted messaging leads to higher conversion rates, and when people feel understood, they’ll want to keep coming back.
- Clearer customer insights: Demographic data provides precise, actionable insights for refining your marketing strategy.
- Simplicity and effectiveness: Demographic insights are immediately actionable and easy to implement, which gives you a great starting point for focused campaigns.
When to use other segmentation types
While demographic segmentation provides valuable consumer insights, there are times when other approaches may offer a more effective strategy:
- Your business provides location-dependent services. If you strictly serve a local area, geographic segmentation would be more effective in targeting customers based on location.
- Your business offers hobby-centric products or services. Psychographic segmentation (based on interests, lifestyle, or values) may be more relevant than demographics alone for products related to specific interests or hobbies.
- You have access to detailed behavioral data. If you collect data on customer behavior (like browsing history or purchase patterns), behavioral segmentation would allow for more personalized targeting than demographics.
- You’re selling high-end luxury products. While income is a useful demographic variable, psychographic factors like values, aspirations, and lifestyle better capture the desires of luxury consumers.
- Your target audience shares similar behaviors, regardless of demographic factors. Behavioral or psychographic segmentation might offer more insight if your customers engage with your product or service based on shared behaviors rather than demographic traits.
- Your product or service targets specific needs or pain points. Segmenting by need or issue rather than traditional demographic variables would likely yield better results if you’re offering a solution to a particular problem (like a health-related product).
How our customers are using demographic segmentation to produce tangible results
Demographic segmentation is about knowing your audience and using data to create marketing strategies that drive measurable outcomes. Let’s look at some real-world use cases from brands like yours that have been successful in this effort, working with Experian to translate demographic insights into significant business growth.
Use case #1: Identifying customer spending potential to boost growth for a retail chain
Objective
A large retail chain wanted to understand the spending potential of each customer in their stores. Their goal was to uncover and maximize untapped spending potential.
Solution
Experian conducted an analysis to identify the top demographic factors that drove spending in the retail store the previous year. Our consultants found the four key drivers were:
- Age
- Income
- Family structure (household composition)
- Location/region
Results
By combining these attributes to create segments, we uncovered two valuable annual estimates:
- Potential spend: A conservative estimate of how much a customer could spend if they reached the top 20% of spenders within their specific demographic segment (based on data from the highest spenders).
- Unrealized spend: The difference between a customer’s annual potential spend and their current spend. An estimate of how much more they could be spending each year.
These demographic segments provided the marketing strategy the retail chain used to target $1.1 billion in unrealized spend. This revealed how much additional revenue could be captured by targeting the right customers with tailored marketing and offers through demographic segmentation.
Use case #2: Helping a financial institution identify regional DE&I opportunities
Objective
A large financial institution needed help identifying regional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) opportunities. They wanted to better prioritize their outreach to underserved communities in the Los Angeles area.
Solution
Experian’s Custom Analytics team provided the data and insights to pinpoint specific areas needing attention. We used three key indices to analyze the region:
- Income index: Measured each underserved economic group by comparing the percentage of low-to-moderate income consumers against the entire L.A. area.
- Ethnicity index: Measured the percentage of consumers by ethnicity, such as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and others, against the entire L.A. area.
- Credit index: Identified potential credit disparities by looking at the average FICO score and the percentage of customers with credit accounts against the entire L.A. area.
Results
Our client received an analytics dashboard to track and report these metrics, providing clear, traceable data to prioritize DE&I outreach. This dashboard helped them measure progress toward more inclusive practices.
Use case #3: Segmenting a health supplement ambassador program for enhanced engagement
Objective
A health supplement company wanted to identify specific segments within their ambassador program to provide better support and increase engagement.
Solution
Experian’s Custom Analytics team developed tailored customer segments to address specific needs and behaviors. These segments included:
- Young and independent: Younger, lower-income singles or starter households who are just beginning to establish their own lives.
- Families with ends to meet: Young and middle-aged families with kids who are budget-conscious, often using coupons and enjoying fast food.
- High-end families: Middle-aged families with kids and high incomes, financially secure big spenders who also give to charities.
- Empty nesters: Older households with no kids who focus on cooking at home and may have more disposable income.
Results
Segmenting at registration allowed for more effective communication and engagement with prospects. Customized messaging, guided by customer demographics and purchasing behaviors, improved acquisition and retention by helping the right messages reach the appropriate individuals through their preferred channels.
Use case #4: Comparing customer bases: Insights for a retailer across two cities
Objective
A national retailer with locations in two major cities (their home base city and a recent expansion city) wanted to understand how different their customer base was in each city. They aimed to uncover key demographic and behavioral differences to refine their marketing strategies and ensure each location received the most relevant messaging and promotions.
Solution
Experian’s Custom Analytics team analyzed each city’s customers across a wide range of characteristics:.
- Demographics: The expansion city had a younger population with more families, while the home base city had an older and more established customer base.
- Purchasing behavior: Customers in the expansion city spent more per transaction than those in the home base city.
- Preferred marketing approach: Customers in the home base city were likelier to be Brand Loyalists, responding well to familiar, trust-driven messaging. Shoppers in the expansion city were Savvy Researchers who responded better to value-based content and product comparisons.
Results
Using these insights, the retailer tailored its marketing approach to align with each location’s customer base:
- Home base city: Focused on maintaining loyalty by emphasizing brand trust and highlighting long-term customer benefits.
- Expansion city: Positioned marketing to appeal to younger, family-focused consumers to showcase high-value purchases and competitive pricing
These adjustments led to improved engagement and higher sales in both cities.
Use case #5: Optimizing direct mail to help a nationwide retailer maximize impact on a limited budget
Objective
Facing a shrinking marketing budget, a nationwide retailer needed to refine their direct mail strategy to reach the right customers while reducing costs.
Solution
Experian’s Custom Analytics team developed a comprehensive dashboard summarizing two dozen recent direct mail campaigns, which allowed the retailer to:
- Understand the demographic composition of high-response customers across different regions.
- Identify key patterns in response rates, helping them pinpoint the most receptive audiences.
- Discover that the Power Elite Mosaic Group representing affluent, high-spending households comprised only 17% of their mailed audience but accounted for 47% of responses.
Results
With these insights, the retailer restructured their direct mail strategy to target the highest-performing segments. Changes like these led to a 30% reduction in mailing costs while retaining 92% of sales, proving that strategic segmentation can drive efficiency without sacrificing revenue.
Explore demographic segmentation with Experian’s Analytics Consulting team
Now that we’ve provided a demographic segmentation definition and given you some real-world demographic segmentation examples, it’s time to get a deeper understanding of your audience.
Our experienced consultants utilize Experian Marketing Data to create the demographic segments you need to enhance targeting and uncover hidden opportunities.
Key features
- Expertise and experience: Our consultants bring a wealth of analytic knowledge and industry expertise, so you can utilize the latest techniques and best practices.
- Customized solutions: We provide tailored, custom solutions like demographic segmentation to address your specific needs and challenges.
- Data-driven insights: Our expertise in Experian Marketing Data quickly delivers valuable insights to optimize operations and identify new opportunities.
- Industry perspective: As external experts, our consultants offer the unbiased perspective necessary to see beyond internal biases and make objective decisions.
- Competitive advantage: Utilizing our analytic consultants gives your business a competitive edge by understanding market trends, customer behavior, and potential risks faster than your competitors.
Connect with us today to see how our data and expertise can improve your targeting, personalization, and campaign performance.
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Audio platforms that overcome consumer identity challenges are winning new advertisers and driving higher ROAS. In this article, you’ll hear from leading audio platforms that are solving these challenges—and seeing results. Digital audio is evolving fast. What was once a niche channel of host-read sponsorships and direct buys is now a must-have in the modern media mix. Streaming platforms, podcasts, and digital radio are drawing more ad dollars thanks to audio’s ability to capture attention and connect with listeners. But with growth comes new pressure. Advertisers expect accuracy, scale, and to see results. At the same time, listeners want more relevant content and more personalized ad experiences. That’s where identity becomes essential. With Experian’s identity and audience solutions, audio platforms can: Bolster addressable audience targeting and personalization capabilities. Gain a comprehensive view of listeners’ digital identity to reach audiences across channels. Better understand consumer preferences, enabling advertisers to reach audiences with greater accuracy. Enhance the listening experience with more relevant content. Let’s break down the key challenges in audio—and how Experian can help solve them. Challenge 1: Anonymous listening limits addressability Most listening happens in environments where people aren’t logged in—via apps, smart speakers, and mobile devices. Without logged-in data, platforms struggle to know who’s listening and advertisers are unable to reach those anonymous listeners who don’t have an addressable ID. To overcome the identity gap in unauthenticated listening environments, leading audio platforms are turning to partners that connect fragmented signals—like device type, location, and behavioral patterns—to broader household and individual profiles. By using hashed emails and other alternative identifiers, platforms can begin to make anonymous sessions more addressable. This increase in addressability ensures the platform’s entire userbase can be reached, which leads to an increase in revenue. Experian’s solution Experian\’s identity spine, comprised of our Digital and Offline Graphs, helps you recognize listeners even when they’re outside your ecosystem. Platforms like Audacy are already leading the way. By integrating Experian’s Digital Graph, they’re gaining a more complete view of listeners’ digital identifiers—enhancing the experience across their app and website. With a better audience understanding, Audacy can deliver personalized content while helping advertisers reach specific groups with greater accuracy. Challenge 2: IP-based targeting falls short Audio has traditionally relied on IP addresses, but that’s no longer enough. A single IP could represent an entire household—or a public setting like a coffee shop. It’s not precise. Forward-thinking platforms are moving beyond IP-based targeting by integrating identity resolution technologies that combine household-level data with device-level intelligence. These solutions help distinguish between shared devices and individual listeners, allowing advertisers to serve more relevant messages without over-reliance on a single signal like an IP address. This layered approach improves precision—especially in dynamic listening environments like vehicles or communal spaces. Experian’s solution Our identity spine links home IPs to households, then connects them to specific devices and individuals. This helps platforms move beyond basic IPs and target real people based on accurate signals—even in shared listening environments like smart speakers and cars. We also help platforms and advertisers integrate alternative IDs—like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2)—into their programmatic audio campaigns. That means more reach, without compromising consumer trust. Challenge 3: Audio buying is fragmented From podcasts to streaming to radio, audio lacks consistency in how inventory is packaged and bought. It’s hard for advertisers to run scaled campaigns across channels—and harder still to measure performance. Plus, advertisers don’t think in silos—they think in strategies. If audio can’t connect to their display, connected TV (CTV), and social buys, it loses ground. What they need is a way to define audiences once and activate everywhere. To reduce friction in audio ad buying, platforms are investing in infrastructure that unifies audience insights across formats. By building a centralized view of the listener—regardless of whether they\’re tuning in via podcast, stream, or radio—publishers can offer advertisers consistent targeting parameters, clearer reporting, and better campaign orchestration. Identity graphs and audiences are playing a growing role in streamlining this complexity and unlocking scale. Experian’s solution Experian helps simplify audio buying. Experian audiences are built on top of our identity graph and are expanded to a deep set of digital identifiers, ensuring accuracy, scale and maximum addressability across channels. Platforms can blend their first-party data with advertiser data and our audiences—then deploy those audiences onsite or activate programmatically across open web and CTV. DAX is doing just that. DAX\’s partnership with Experian combines Experian’s 2,400+ audiences for targeting and activation with DAX’s innovative audio advertising approach. We’re helping advertisers connect with passionate and engaged listeners nationwide. \”Through our partnership with Experian Marketing Services, advertisers can unlock deeper audience insights and execute more impactful digital audio campaigns. By combining our shared market presence, knowledge, and forward-thinking approach, we’re strengthening our digital audio network offering and delivering value to all our advertising partners.\” Brian Conlan, President of DAX United States In addition to integrating Experian’s Digital Graph, Audacy is also integrating Experian\’s syndicated audiences to unlock accurate insights like demographics, shopping behavior, and interests – providing listeners with a more personalized advertising experience and advertisers with a higher return on investment. “Historically, audio advertising lacked precise targeting capabilities, making it challenging for advertisers to reach specific audiences. By integrating our digital identity graph and syndicated audiences with Audacy’s platform, we’re transforming how advertisers connect with listeners. This collaboration enables more effective audience targeting and delivers personalized, impactful audio experiences across all channels.”Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer, Experian Privacy is non-negotiable Everything we do is privacy-forward by design. Backed by Experian’s Global Data Principles and decades as a regulated institution, we rigorously vet every data source to ensure compliance with all federal and state laws. Build an audio strategy that performs with Experian Your advertisers want more from their audio investments. With Experian, you can give it to them. We help you: Expand digital addressability to maximize reach for marketers and drive revenue growth for your platform. Create and activate addressable audiences across all channels. Enhance the listening experience with relevant content and personalized ads. Audio has always been a powerful way to connect. Now, it’s ready to perform. Let\’s connect Latest posts
When we launched our data marketplace earlier this year, we set out to transform how the industry discovers and activates privacy-safe audiences and maintains addressability across display, mobile, and connected TV (CTV). Yieldmo was one of the first adopters and their story speaks volumes about what’s possible when flexible tech meets premium data. Large retail brand boosts in-store traffic with Yieldmo and Experian Yieldmo, an advertising platform known for its inventive, AI-powered creative formats and privacy-first inventory, partnered with Experian to support a leading athletic retailer’s campaign focused on driving in-store traffic. The goal? Attract in-store shoppers likely to purchase from competitors, particularly during key sales windows. Using Experian’s Audience Engine platform, which includes our proprietary and third-party data marketplace, Yieldmo built a high-performing, self-serve targeting strategy that included both conquesting and in-store shopper segments. With the ability to easily combine Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences, like those from Alliant, Circana, Webbula, and Sports Innovation Lab, Yieldmo quickly built precise apparel and footwear audiences. Using Experian’s identity graphs in Audience Engine, Yieldmo increased cross-channel addressability to maximize campaign scale and impact. “Experian’s data marketplace in Audience Engine fills a critical gap, letting us quickly search by brand, build smarter conquest segments, and activate custom audiences fast. The platform is flexible and the support is hands-on and reliable.”Abby Littlejohn, Director of Sales Planning at Yieldmo With self-serve setup that cut down manual work, the ability to build highly tailored audiences, and expected lift in store visits, Experian helped the team achieve standout results. \”We selected Experian as our primary third-party data partner based on contract ease, audience quality, and speed. Through Experian, we can find high-performing audiences from multiple providers that meet our client’s targeting objectives. We include Experian audience segments in 80% of formal RFP proposals and are in active discussions on how to optimize for future campaigns—making Experian a go-to partner for third-party targeting.”Nelson Montouchet, AVP, Strategic Partnerships, Yieldmo More data, more reach: Experian’s data marketplace fuels smarter targeting across ad platforms Today, just months after launch, Experian’s data marketplace is gaining traction across the ecosystem. Over 10 platforms, including leading supply-side platforms (SSPs) and TV platforms such as Madhive, OpenAP, and Optimum, are now actively utilizing our data marketplace to enhance their activation capabilities. As privacy rules tighten and many identity signals start to fade, a lot of activation platforms are finding it tougher to reach their audiences. This is where our data marketplace shines, with one of the most comprehensive identity graphs out there, 126 million households, 250 million individuals, and over four billion active digital IDs, we make it easy to activate audiences while keeping addressability high across channels. We preserve accuracy when scaling to digital IDs via our identity graphs since Experian is rooted in offline data, which provides better connections and smarter targeting. “Our long-standing partnership with Experian and breadth of Experian\’s data marketplace, combined with the interoperable, direct matching methodology of our Open Identity solution, make it possible for OpenAP to enable advertisers and agencies to use best-in-class data partners to build audiences with the highest fidelity and consistently reach audiences at scale wherever they are consuming content across premium video.”Chris LoRusso, Chief Business Officer at OpenAP Experian’s data marketplace has grown to include over 20 premium data providers, such as: “We’re thrilled to bring PlaceIQ’s privacy-first, visit-based audiences to Experian’s marketplace, giving brands quick and easy access to high-intent shoppers. From recent big-box customers to yoga-studio regulars, advertisers can add real-world relevance to campaigns across every channel.”Brian Bradtke, Head of Partner Development, Precisely PlaceIQ These partnerships bring unique value to platforms looking to understand and engage audiences more effectively, whether through physical location intelligence, sports and fandom insights, or behavioral intent signals. What’s next As we head into one of the industry’s key events this summer at Cannes, the excitement around our data marketplace continues to build. We\’re focused on expanding our data ecosystem and helping platforms and marketers turn fragmented data strategies into a unified competitive advantage. If Yieldmo’s story is any indication, this is just the beginning. Let’s connect and explore how Experian’s data marketplace can help you drive more revenue, scale your audience reach, and stay ahead of privacy shifts. Connect with us Latest posts
Gaming companies sit at a unique crossroads: they’re part entertainment powerhouse, part tech platform, part media company. Whether you’re publishing blockbuster titles, running a mobile game network, or building immersive in-game ad experiences, you have access to vast amounts of player data—and massive potential for growth. What\’s standing in the way of growth and loyalty Video game publishers and platforms are increasingly turning to data to understand, engage, and retain their players. But that’s easier said than done. Here are the top challenges they face: Data lives in silos. Gaming companies often collect data across multiple platforms—console, PC, mobile—but can’t stitch together a full view of the player across devices and titles. Identity is hard to resolve. Players interact across games, apps, websites, and platforms. It’s tough to connect all those signals and create a consistent, personalized experience. Privacy is non-negotiable. Regulations are tightening. Any solution must not only be powerful—it must be privacy-safe. Ad performance is difficult to measure. It’s often unclear which campaigns are driving engagement, conversions, or purchases—especially across fragmented digital touchpoints. How Experian can help you win with data and identity Experian helps gaming companies stop leaving value on the table. We turn scattered player data into a single, unified view—giving you the foundation to better understand and engage your players. Our approach: Organize, enrich, activate 1. We clean and unify your data We help you build a solid identity foundation by resolving messy, duplicate, or outdated records across systems. That means your player data from mobile, console, PC, and web all connects—giving you a clear view of how your users engage across games and platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global interactive gaming company is partnering with Experian to unify and enrich player profiles across systems—boosting the performance of both player engagement campaigns and in-game monetization strategies. 2. We deliver deep customer insights With Experian, you go beyond surface-level data. We help you understand player behaviors, financial attributes, interests, and lifestyle factors—fueling more personalized experiences, smarter segmentation, and better monetization strategies. 💡 How it’s working: A major game developer used Experian’s data enrichment tools to gain deeper insights into player behavior and financial attributes—enabling more personalized in-game offers, smarter audience segmentation, and stronger player retention. 3. We enrich profiles and help you activate across channels We enhance your player records with hundreds of attributes—so you can create custom segments that work. Then, we help you activate those audiences in real-time across digital, social, and programmatic platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global gaming publisher used Experian to build custom audiences and activate across programmatic channels, driving higher in-game engagement and ad ROI. Turning audiences into ad revenue In addition to improving their own player marketing, gaming companies are unlocking a second growth engine: ad revenue from non-endemic brands. Much like retail media networks, game publishers and platforms are realizing the value of their audience data. From airlines and automakers to QSR and CPG brands, advertisers are taking notice of the high-value, high-intent audiences inside game environments. But to attract that ad spend, publishers need to offer more than impressions—they need precise audience targeting, cross-device identity, and reliable measurement. How Experian helps drive better ad performance To appear authentically to a gamer, you need to know who they are and what they care about. Experian helps marketers understand a person’s behaviors and preferences to enable relevant, personalized advertising. And since nobody wants to see the same ad ten times during a session, we help manage ad frequency across devices and placements to protect the player experience. Our approach: Extend reach, measure results 1. We expand your digital reach Experian makes it easier to find and connect with your players wherever they are—across devices, platforms, and publishers. We help you build scalable audiences you can reach programmatically and with precision. 💡 How it’s working: Unity, a leading gaming platform, is redefining the way marketers reach their audiences across major and emerging channels. They’ve tapped into Experian’s syndicated audiences to gain player insights and help advertisers connect with gaming audiences across mobile, web, and connected TV (CTV) based on behaviors and preferences. 2. We help you measure what matters Whether your goal is app installs, in-game purchases, ad engagement, or player retention, we help connect the dots. You’ll know which campaigns are driving action—and where to double down. 💡 How it’s working: A leading global game publisher is working with Experian to enrich player profiles, build and activate audience segments, and measure how campaigns drive in-game engagement and purchases—giving them a clearer view of ROI across digital channels. Why choose Experian Whether you’re trying to build stronger player relationships or turn your audience into a high-performing advertising engine, Experian gives you the data and identity foundation to make it happen. We help you: Organize and clean your player data Resolve identities across digital touchpoints Enrich your data with deep, actionable insights Build and activate target audiences Measure impact across the player journey Let\’s power up together We’re already supporting leading brands across the gaming ecosystem—from global game publishers and mobile app developers to in-game ad networks and gaming platforms. And we’re ready to help more companies harness the full power of their data. Get in the game with us 🎮 Latest posts